Yale and Yale-NUS seek to strengthen their partnership

Yale Daily News

As part of efforts to strengthen ties between Yale and Yale-NUS, Singapore's sister liberal arts faculty plans to welcome more Yalie students overseas and facilitate Collaborative research projects in both schools.

Noting that research is "at the heart of the mission of both institutions," Tan Tai Yong, president of Yale-NUS, emphasized the importance of facilitating partnerships in research projects between Yale and his college. liberal arts, his sister brother, in Singapore. In addition, Tan said that student exchanges allow members of both communities to "immerse themselves in new experiences on campus and in local cultures".

"We already have a strong and ongoing relationship with Yale, a relationship we want to continue to deepen," Tan said. "We believe that strong connections not only bring benefits to our faculty, staff and students, but also to those of our faculty and students, as well as to the institution itself. as a global presence. "

Tan said the institutions were working on creating summer research opportunities at Yalies in Singapore, similar to those that Yale has already extended to Yale-NUS students. He added that the two schools are studying how to "create funding mechanisms for students to jointly develop social impact projects around the world".

Tan added that collaborative initiatives were underway in the areas of environmental studies, development economics, migration, public health, foreign languages ​​and digital humanities.

"We are building on our presence in Asia and are taking the opportunity to welcome Yale faculty, students, and staff members to Yale-NUS College, where they can work" in the region, in the region, "Tan said. .

In an e-mail to News, Jeannette Ickovics, a professor of psychology, who was named Dean of Yale-NUS faculty this fall, said Yale-NUS administrators and professors were actively working to recruit more students from Yale who would spend a semester in Singapore.

When Tan went to Yale in October, he organized a meal with Yale-NUS past faculty members, as well as Yale-NUS students studying at Yale and Yalies wishing to study at Yale. abroad at Yale-NUS in the spring. And during his visit to Yale last month, Ickovics also met Yalies who was considering a semester in Singapore.

"Knowing what is available at Yale-NUS and launching a big invitation to come can help convince more students to spend a semester abroad in Singapore," Ickovics said.

Yale has been hosting Yale-NUS students since 2014. Starting in the 2015-2016 academic year, the University has hosted 24 Yale-NUS students each year as part of the Visiting International Students program. Still, Tan said that no Yale student had spent a semester abroad at Yale-NUS.

According to Study Abroad's director, Kelly McLaughlin, eight students "were looking closely" at the Yale-NUS study abroad option for next spring, a "marked increase in the number of students". interest "from previous years. Three of these students have already been allowed to study abroad at Yale-NUS this spring, although Mr. McLaughlin added that they have not yet officially committed to the program. Although the Center for International and Professional Experience has been offering this opportunity for three years, only two or three students have shown interest in previous years, he said.

McLaughlin told the News that it is unclear what has sparked increased interest this academic year.

"One student joked that the release of Crazy Rich Asians had served as a catalyst of interest; the film, after all, is a visual feast featuring stunning cityscapes and ultramodern streets, "wrote McLaughlin in an e-mail to the News. "I think Singapore and Yale-NUS College have been visible at Yale for a number of obvious reasons beyond that, of course, the close partnerships between the two institutions are the main culprits."

Asked about the lack of student Yalies at Yale-NUS, Ickovics said that, "while there is a culture of studying abroad and looking for international opportunities at Yale-NUS," a lower number of Yale students choose to spend time studying abroad while at Yale.

Charles Bailyn, currently Director of Franklin College and former Dean of Faculties at Yale-NUS, also stated that he felt that the lack of Yale students studying at Yale-NUS was related to student life at Yale , and not Yale-NUS. He noted that many Yale students do not study abroad during the semester due to out-of-school commitments.

Bailyn said that the first year was the most academically sound time for a study abroad experience, but he noticed that most of Yale's student organizations were awarding leadership positions this year. year, which made students reluctant to abandon them. Betty Pu, a guest student from Yale-NUS, said that at Yale-NUS, second-year students held most of the executive positions, which allows more students to leave to attend. 39, foreigners during their first year.

In the last academic year, 838 Yalies studied abroad for credits, but only 107 of them did so during the school year, according to McLaughlin.

Kento Tanaka's # 20, one of three students allowed to study at Yale-NUS in the spring, said he had chosen college as a study destination overseas. to escape Yale's time while still feeling "an institutional link". being at Yale-NUS could offer a compromise between experiencing a new environment and retaining well-known academic and support structures.

Dustin Nguyen '20, another student who was accepted to study at Yale-NUS in the spring, said he found the opportunity appealing because it fits his academic goals as a major in East Asian studies. Nguyen, who is already engaged in the program, said he was excited about his upcoming semester at Yale-NUS.

"I have already booked my flight," he said.

Yale-NUS was founded in 2011.

Asha Prihar | [email protected].